At TechCrunch, Jolla's CEO Marc Dillon explains why his company will focus on China, Finland, and the rest of Europe first, ignoring the US. "The US market is not on the radar as yet, as he says the patent landscape there 'raises a barrier' of entry to newcomers (he's especially critical of overly aggressive use of design patents)." Considering the patent mess in the US is only getting worse, expect to see more of this in the future. Jolla is making a wise decision by ignoring the US - as a young technology company, you're far better off focusing your attention elsewhere.

I got laid off from my IT job last year. I was on unemployment for nearly a year before I found a job in my crappy area (seriously, job hunting in a small town miles from the nearest big one sucks). I had 0 problems accepting unemployment and no one that I know views it as anything but a necessary system there to help you when you need it. The only ill thoughts sent in that direction are towards the lazy lay-abouts that abuse the handout system.